Chapter 18
16
The men got up from there and looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked with them to send them on their way.
17
And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?"
18
And Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all nations of the earth will be blessed in him.
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For I know him, because he will command his sons and his house after him, and they will keep the way of the LORD to do righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about him.
20
And the LORD said, "The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and their sin is very heavy."
21
I will go down now and see whether they have done everything according to the outcry about it that has come to me; if not, I will know.
22
The men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
23
And Abraham drew near and said, "Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?"
24
Perhaps there are fifty righteous people in the midst of the city—will you even sweep it away and not spare the place on account of the fifty righteous who are in its midst?
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Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, and that the righteous be as the wicked—far be it from you, Judge of all the land! Shall he not do justice?
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And the LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous in the city, then I will spare all the place for their sake."
27
Abraham answered and said, "Look, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, and I am dust and ashes."
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Perhaps they will lack fifty righteous by five; will you destroy all the city for five? And he said, "No, I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there."
29
And he continued to speak to him and said, "Perhaps they will find forty there." And he said, "I will not do it for the sake of the forty."
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And he said, "No, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: perhaps they will find thirty there." And he said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31
And he said, "Look, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; perhaps twenty will be found there." And he said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty."
32
And he said, "Please, let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak just this once: perhaps ten will be found there." And he said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."
33
And the LORD went, as he finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.